Hydraulic vise



I LER HYDRAULIC E June 29, 1948.

Filed y 25, 1945 m z a INVENTOR.

Patented June 29, 1948 l'i" 'i' 1 Claim Thisinvention relates to Vises and more espe cially to avise the working parts of which are designed to be operated hydraulically.

The invention has for an object the provision of a simple and compact structure which 'can be actuated readily,'willgive a tight grip *on any object-placed therein, and can be supported at any desired angle best adapted to meet the requirements.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawing,

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through the device, taken substantially on line II of Figure 3.

Figure 2 is a perspective view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of the two jaws and adjacent parts.

Figure 3 is an end elevation.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, I designates a block constituting the body portion of the device, this block carrying a fixed jaw 2 and a recessed base 3. The base, which has a semi-spherical recess 4 therein, can be suitably lined as at 5, and thus adapted to receive a ball 6 carried by a pedestal "I to be suitably secured to a supporting structure. The clampin plate 8 surrounds and is fitted upon the ball 6 and has screws 9 extending therethrough and into the base 3 whereby, by tightening the screws, the ball can be gripped tightly between plate I3 and base 3, thus providing a universal joint.

Slidably mounted in the block I is a tubular shank It, to one end of which is secured a movable jaw I I adapted to cooperate with jaw 2 for the purpose of gripping the work. This movable jaw can be secured onto shank Ill as at I2 and can be split as at I3, so that, by means of a binding screw M, the movable jaw can be securely held to the shank.

A head I5 is located between the movable jaw I I and the block I and is secured to said block by means of bolts It or the like. The head extends through a longitudinal slot il formed in one end portion of the shank I and secured 2 to thehead is one end of a-stem'IS which is extended longitudinally within shank I0 and provided with a piston l9 which has close fit against the inner surface of shank III. The space between this piston I9 and that end of the shank remote from the jaws constitutes a pressure chamber ill and the end of the shank is closed by a plug 2f having a port 22 through which fluid under pressure can be directed from any suitable source into the chamber 20.

A coiled spring 23 is secured at one end to a bracket 24 extending from and secured to the plu 2i and the other end of this spring is connected by a coupling plate 25 to the block I. This spring serves normally to hold the plug 2| pressed toward the stationary piston I9 and the movement of this plug and the tubular shank I8 under the action of spring 23 is limited by an adjustable collar 26 which is mounted on the shank and is adapted to be held in any desired position thereon by a set screw 21. The collar normally bears against a stop shoulder 28 formed on the base 3 of the block I. As illustrated in Figure 1, the collar, when in engagement with the block I and shoulder 28 maintains the jaw II a short distance away from the jaw 2. Obviously, by shifting the adjustable collar 26 to the right on shank I I], the normal distance between the two jaws can be considerably increased. After the parts have been adjusted to meet the requirements, the work is placed between the jaws and thereafter fluid under pressure is directed into chamber 20 by way of port 22. A flexible hose, not shown, can be used for conveying the fluid under pressure to the tool. As the pressure enters the chamber 2d, it expands the chamber by forcing plug 2i away from piston IS with the result that the jaw II is pulled against the work and against the action of spring 23 so that the work thus will be tightly gripped. As soon as pressure is released, the sprin returns the parts to their normal positions so that the vise thus acts quickly to release the work.

A shield 29 in the form of a channel-like inverted plate is disposed between spring 23 and shank It. The shield is removably secured to block I by screws 3!). Shield 29 has its bottom edges spaced from and substantially in a common plane with the slotted bottom of the shank I9, and extends over the collar 26. The shield thus avoids the possibility of injury due to the movement of collar 25 and the slotted shank.

It is to be understood that various types of work-gripping plates can be mounted on the active faces of the jaws 2 and H.

What is claimed is;

A vise including a support engaging block having an integral fixed jaw, a tubular shank slidably mounted in the support engaging block having a single longitudinal slot adjacent one end and forming a hydraulic cylinder at the other end, there being a port in an end wall of the cylinder for the admission of fluid under pressure, a head fixedly secured to the support engaging block and straddled and slidably engaged by the slotted portion of the tubular shank, a movable jaw fixedly joined to said slotted end of the tubular shank, a piston rod fixedly secured to said head and coaxial with and projecting into the tubular shank, a piston head fixedly secured to the projecting end of said rod and having wiping contact with the interior surface of the cylinder portion of said tubular shank, a tension spring connecting the support engaging block to said end wall of the cylinder, a collar adjustably mounted on the tubular shank cooperating with the support engaging block tolimit the movement of the shank in one direction under the action of the spring, said shank being. movable in the opposite direction by fluid under pressure admitted to said cylinder and reacting against said end wall and against the piston, and an inverted channel-like shield positioned between said spring and said tubular shank and extending partially around the tubular shank and collar, said shield being removably secured to the support engaging block.

VERLIN CLARK MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 760,411 Arnold May 24, 1904 1,413,676 McCarter Apr. 25, 1922 2,015,645 Chase et a1 Sept. 24, 1935 2,107,970 Wells Feb. 8, 1938 2,289,597 Seat July 14, 1942 2,310,025 Giern et al Feb. 2, 1943 2,313,348 Kvapil Mar. 9, 1943 2,334,797 Stuckley Nov. 23, 1943 2,387,102 Wallis Oct. 16, 1945 2,398,658 Mead Apr. 16, 1946 

